No. 6 men's hoops gets revenge at No. 4 WashU, 68-66

Feb 22, 2008

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Brandeis University men's basketball team
avenged one of their four losses tonight as the No. 6 ranked Judges
defeated No. 4 Washington University, 68-66, in the WU Fieldhouse
tonight. The Judges, who snapped Washington's 24-game home winning
streak, improve to 19-4, 9-3 in the UAA, while the Bears fall to
18-5, 9-3. Both teams move into a three-way tie atop the conference
with the University of Chicago, who the Judges will face on Sunday
at 1 p.m. Eastern.

The game was as close as the score indicated in the first half, as
neither team was able to establish a lead of more than four points,
and that was an early 9-4 advantage by WashU. Brandeis took a 26-23
lead with 2:40 before the break on a put-back by sophomore Rich
Magee, but the Bears closed on a 5-2 run, tying the game on two
Tyler Nading free throws 56 seconds before the break.

After scoring the first four points of the second half, WashU
maintained their lead with hot shooting from outside. The Judges
climbed within on, 39-38, on a Kevin Olson 3-pointer, but the Bears
connected from downtown on three of their next five possessions as
part of a 10-4 run. A trifecta from sophomore Cameron Smith at the
12:56 mark gave WU their largest lead at 49-42. The Judges
responded with an 11-4 run of their own thanks to long range
shooting. Trifectas from sophomore Andre Roberson, senior Joe
Coppens and Olson allowed the Judges to knot the score at 53-53
with 7:48 left.

WashU senior Danny O'Boyle scored the Bears' next five points, but
the Judges answered to tie the game both times, the last an
answering 3-pointer by Coppens. After WashU senior Troy Ruths
committed a traveling violation on the next possession, Brandeis
senior Stephen Hill (Brighton, Mass.) got a put-back on an
offensive rebound to put the Judges ahead, 60-58, for the first
time since the first half. Hill had the next Brandeis basket to
extend the lead to four, but WashU's Tyler Nading had a lay-up and
an assist to Ruths as the game was knotted again at 62-62 with 2:07
remaining.

After a Brandeis timeout, the Judges worked the ball inside out,
eventually getting the ball to sophomore Terrell Hollins in the
paint. Hollins kicked it out Roberson at the top of the key, and he
drained his second trifecta of the game with 1:40 left to give
Brandeis a lead it wouldn't relinquish. After a Brandeis got a
stop, Coppens missed from downtown with the shot clock off, but
Hill skied for the rebound and got the ball to Roberson, who hit
two free throws to give the Judges a five-point lead.

Rookie Ross Kelley scored on the next WashU possession and Roberson
missed a one-and-one opportunity, allowing the Bears to get within
one, 67-66, on a Ruth lay-in with less than eight seconds
remaining. The Judges made a heads-up play, throwing the ball into
the frontcourt and allowing Roberson to run it down and burn six
seconds off the clock. He hit his next free throw and missed the
second, but the Bears were unable to get a shot off, giving
Brandeis the two-point victory.

The Judges were led by Coppens, who scored a game-high 17 points,
including five-of-eight from 3-point range. Coppens scored 11
points in the second half. Olson and Roberson both finished with 13
points each. Eleven of Roberson's points came after the break,
including six in the final two minutes. Hill led all players with
eight rebounds, as the Judges outboarded WashU, 33-21, including
13-5 on the offensive glass.